by Liv Brywood
Their tongues danced against each other, swirling slowly, tasting and retreating as their passion ignited their hearts. When she couldn’t hold her breath another second, she pulled back slightly. She gasped and met his sultry gaze. She tried to think of something to say but couldn’t. Instead, she stood on her tiptoes and pressed her lips against his.
But nagging fears invaded her mind. She couldn’t afford to get caught up in their undeniable attraction. Her brother was depending on her to help get him to Canada. If she failed, he’d be shipped across the ocean to his death.
She broke the kiss and pushed away from Greg. She turned her back to him and wrapped her arms across her chest. What right did she have to think about anything other than saving her brother?
“Are you all right?” Greg asked softly.
“I’m fine.”
“I know something’s wrong,” he said.
“We can’t do this,” she said.
“What? Kiss?”
“Yes. And we have to stop looking at each other as if there could be something between us. I have to get my brother to Canada. I know you don’t agree with what we’re doing, but I can’t let him go to war,” she said.
Greg gently touched her shoulder.
“I understand why you’re doing it,” he said. “Every night when I watch the news, I look for my brothers. Every time the phone rings, my heart stops. I wonder if this will be the call telling us that one of my brothers is dead. Anytime someone comes to visit us, I want to fall over in relief when I see that they’re in civilian clothes and not military uniforms. I know why you’re doing it, and if it was up to me, I would have helped every one of my brothers flee.”
“Why didn’t you?” she asked.
“Because someone has to fight for our country. We can’t let communism take over the world. I don’t want anyone’s brothers to die either, but we have to win this war. There’s too much at stake to turn our backs on the draft.”
“The draft isn’t even fair,” she protested. “Do you ever see politician’s kids heading off to war? No, you see poor people who can’t pay off the draft officials to save their sons.”
“It’s not fair,” he said. “But Nixon says he’ll work to make it equal.”
She laughed. “He’s a liar too.”
“He’s our leader and if he thinks we should be at war, then I trust his judgment. You have to give him time; he’s only been in office a few months. Making changes to something as big as the draft will take time,” he said.
“My brother doesn’t have any time left. He already got his draft card, so we have no choice.”
As Greg gently squeezed her shoulders, she forced back tears.
“Hey,” he whispered. “I don’t fault you for wanting to save him. That doesn’t affect the way I feel about you.”
“I’m leaving in a few weeks,” she said. “We’ll never see each other again, so why start something we know we can’t finish?”
He slid his hands down to cup the side of her arms. When he didn’t say anything, she considered the discussion over. So she was surprised when he eased her back against his hard chest. His lips pressed against the top of her head.
“I don’t want you to go,” he said. “We’re just starting to get to know each other.”
“There are plenty of other girls out there waiting for a man like you,” she said.
“But none of them are you.”
“I’m not special,” she said.
“Are you kidding?” he asked as he spun her around. “You’re fearless. When your father kicked you out, you found a place to live.”
“A park?” She arched a brow.
“Well, you lived there for years, didn’t you?”
“Yes.”
“See. You’ve also traveled through several states to get here in an unreliable bus with some questionable companions.”
“River and Meadow aren’t bad people,” she protested.
“That’s not what I said. But you have to agree that they’re really not paradigms of social conformity.”
“Paradigms?”
“It means examples,” he said.
“What did you do, read the dictionary or something?” she asked.
“I have an encyclopedia set. It was my father’s and he gave it to me when I went into high school,” he said.
“I bet you read some interesting stuff,” she said. “Sometimes I wish I’d finished school. I feel like I could have learned a lot more.”
“If you want to borrow the first volume, I could loan it to you. But you have to promise to give it back,” he said. “My dad will kill me if I break up the set.”
“You’re so different from any man I’ve ever known,” she whispered.
“Hopefully in a good way?”
“Greg,” she took a step forward and he moved to wrap her in a tight embrace. “How can this ever work between us? Your life is here with your family on the farm.”
“And you’re a free spirit out to see the world. I couldn’t hold you back. You’d hate me if I asked you to stay.”
“Would you ever leave?” she asked.
“Sometimes I feel tied down to what I’m supposed to do, but I honestly can’t imagine leaving the farm. Eventually, I’d love to turn the farm into a horse ranch. We could give riding lessons and maybe even have a bed & breakfast. We get enough tourists through West Yellowstone.”
“What do your brothers think about your plans?” she asked.
“My brothers don’t want to stay on the farm. They want to go out and forge their own place in the world. But how can I leave this place?” He released her and gestured toward the rolling green hills and glistening lake. “It’s my home. I would never leave it. But I’d like to find a woman to share it with.”
She pressed her face into his chest. If he asked her to stay, would she even consider it? Could Andy make it to Canada without her? Did she really trust River and Meadow not to abandon him on the side of the road?
“I know I’m a homebody,” he said shyly. “But it’s who I am.”
“I’d never try to change you,” she said.
“I’d never try to change you either.”
“Then there’s no hope for us,” she said.
He ran his hand through his hair as if distraught by the idea. But she had to be realistic about some things. Being a dreamer would only take her so far in life. There was a fine line between a dream and a delusion, and she knew better than to cross it.
***
As each warm summer day melted into the next, Daisy grew more despondent. It was mid-July and they’d only agreed to stay until the end of the month. By August first, the bus would be repaired and they’d be on their way. She should have been elated not to be trapped on the farm any longer, but instead her heart ached.
She was standing in the center of a patch of cauliflower when fear wrapped its sharp claws around her heart. The thought of never seeing him again shredded her soul. Torn between her duty to her brother and her blossoming relationship with Greg, she could hardly sleep at night. She needed to talk to Greg. She had to tell him that he couldn’t stop her from leaving—not that he’d tried. If anything, he’d stayed just as distant. But it hadn’t stopped him from casting forlorn looks at her from across the field.
After setting the basket down, she turned in a circle, trying to locate Greg. She had to talk to him now while she still had the courage to tell him that she really was leaving and that they had to stop gazing at each other like star-crossed lovers. They weren’t even lovers. Other than the kiss the day they’d gone riding, they hadn’t so much as touched each other. They’d carefully avoided physical contact for over a week and it was killing her.
She carefully picked a path through several rows of vegetables as she headed toward the barn. She’d seen him disappear in that direction over an hour ago.
“Where are you going?” Meadow asked. She stood with a basket on one hip as she narrowed her eyes.
“I’ll be right
back,” Daisy said.
“Oh right, so I have to stay here and pick vegetables while you run off with lover boy.”
“I’m not—he’s not my lover,” Daisy snapped. “Besides, I’ve already picked four baskets worth of cauliflower in the time it’s taken you to pick one basket of tomatoes. So don’t talk to me about who’s not doing their job.”
“I would have just hitchhiked out of here if it weren’t for you. We could have gotten Andy to Canada without the bus,” Meadow grumbled.
“But then we wouldn’t have gotten so tan,” River said as he ambled over. “Stop bitching and start picking, Meadow. The sooner we get this done, the sooner we can get out of here.”
“You just want to get on the road so you can meet more women,” Meadow yelled. “Don’t think I haven’t seen you checking out Greg’s sister.”
“Maybe I like looking at her because she doesn’t whine and complain all day,” River said.
Daisy slowly backed away as they continued to fight. She may as well not have even been there for all they cared. Apparently their relationship was crumbling too. She’d expected them to stay together for the rest of their lives. Knowing that their relationship was rocky made her even more determined to find Greg. The sooner she put a stop to his flirtatious smiles, the better. She wouldn’t let his charm destroy her heart.
She hurried into the barn before she could change her mind and called his name. When he didn’t answer, she searched all of the stalls.
“Greg? I need to talk to you,” she said.
“He’s not in here,” a gruff voice responded.
She jumped and covered her chest with her hand. Greg’s dad poked his head over the edge of the hay loft.
“What did you need?” he asked.
“I just wanted to talk to him,” she said. She couldn’t exactly confess the real reason she needed to see him.
“He’s collecting some huckleberries in the woods for his mom. He’ll be back in a few hours. I suggest you get back to work. You can talk to him after lunch.”
“Thank you, Mr. Grant,” she said.
She left the barn with no intention of going back to the field. With a quick glance over her shoulder, she sprinted into the woods. She’d been out to the huckleberry patch enough times with his mother and sister that she knew the way.
When she reached the dense, berry-covered bushes, she scanned the area. A large blob of brown caught her attention. She placed her hand over her eyes to shade them, then squinted. What is that?
As she hiked down the side of hill, a soft chuffing sound carried through the air. She stopped as the brown blob shifted. Still not close enough to see what it was, she inched forward, picking her way through an increasingly tense tangle of bushes. Several yards away, she finally recognized the creature. It was an enormous grizzly bear.
She froze. Its back was to her so it didn’t know she was there. She tiptoed behind a pine tree and leaned out to look at the magnificent animal. It ambled over to a nearby bush, giving her a better view. Light brown fur covered its face, making it stand out against the rest of its coffee-colored body.
It swiped a giant paw across the bush then bent to devour the fallen berries. As it chewed, it stood back on its hind legs and turned its head toward her. She quickly hid behind the tree. The bear might be beautiful, but it also brandished deadly claws.
When she peeked around the corner, the bear stretched its furry paws overhead, then dropped to all fours. A strange cracking noise resounded through the forest as the bear reared up. She watched in horror as the animal’s bones snapped and twisted in impossible directions. The fur receded only to be replaced with skin. Its huge paws retracted to form hands and feet. The long line of its snout transformed into a nose.
The man rose to his feet. He was completely naked. She gasped and—without thinking—stepped out from behind the tree. When her eyes met his, a tremor ricocheted through her body.
Chapter 9
Greg frowned and took a step toward her. She backed away with her hands held up.
“Stay away from me,” she said.
“Wait, let me explain.”
“You’re a… you’re a… I don’t even know,” she whispered.
He held his breath. Was she going to call him a monster?
“You…what are you?”
“I’m a shifter,” he said. There was no way to sugarcoat what she’d seen. He just wished she hadn’t discovered his secret.
“How is that possible?” she asked in a stunned voice.
“No one really knows why we’re able to shift,” he began.
“We?”
“Shifters.”
“There are more of you?” she asked, dumbfounded.
“Yes,” he said. “My whole family are shifters. There are a lot of shifter families.”
“Why haven’t I heard about this? Why isn’t it on the news?”
“Because we have to keep it a secret. If anyone found out, they’d kill us.” He took another step toward her but she stumbled backward.
“Don’t come any closer,” she said.
The level of fear in her tone crushed him. She was just like everyone else. People were afraid of what they didn’t understand. He’d seen it before. Although he’d never had proof, when his ex-girlfriend Lori had left with her family, he’d suspected she’d found out. Back then, rumors were floating around about bears who could turn into men. But the shifters in the area had banded together to dispel the rumors as old wives’ tales. His safety and the safety of his family depended on her silence.
“You can’t tell anyone,” he said.
“I won’t. I swear. We can leave tonight,” she said. “I’ll never come back and I’ll never tell my brother or the others what I saw.”
“No. I don’t want you to go,” he said. “Let me try to explain.”
“You’re not even human,” she said. “There’s nothing to explain.”
“Daisy, please. If anyone finds out, my whole family will be in danger. I can’t take that risk.”
“What are you going to do?” she asked as she backed up another step. “Are you going to kill me to keep me silent? I saw your claws and your teeth. I wouldn’t stand a chance against you.”
“I’d never hurt you,” he said, dejected. “I—”
It was on the tip of his tongue to confess how he really felt about her. After arguing with his bear for weeks about whether or not she was their mate, he was starting to believe his bear. The thought of losing her, of never seeing her again, tore at his soul.
“Can you just keep an open mind about this?” he asked.
“There’s a pretty big difference between keeping an open mind and ignoring the fact that you can turn into a two-ton beast who can rip me limb from limb,” she said.
“Only a thousand pounds,” he grumbled.
“What?”
“I only weigh a thousand pounds when I’m in my bear form.”
“Oh, I’m glad we cleared that up,” she said sarcastically.
They stared each other down for a few seconds before he burst out laughing. Were they seriously standing here arguing about his bear weight? A thousand-pound difference was completely inconsequential compared to the bigger issue. He slapped his hand over his mouth and wrapped the other around his stomach. As much as he tried to stop, he couldn’t.
“It’s not that funny,” she said.
“It is,” he said between fits of laughter.
She stared at him for a few seconds before the edge of her mouth tugged up.
“You can become a bear and we’re here debating your weight. I guess I can see how it’s funny,” she said with a sigh.
“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t be laughing. Sometimes it happens when I get really nervous,” he said.
“You’re nervous?” she asked. “I’m the one who should be nervous. Also, I can’t talk to you like this. Where are you clothes?”
“Hang on,” he said.
He hurried over to the tree branch he’
d hung his clothes on. After quickly pulling his jeans up, he yanked on his plaid button-up shirt. When he turned around, he half-expected her to be gone, but she wasn’t. She stood in the same spot. He tried to read her expression but couldn’t.
“I’ll keep your secret,” she said.
“Thank you.” His shoulders sagged with relief.
“I honestly don’t know what to think about this. I keep thinking that I must be dreaming, or tripping or something.”
“I thought you didn’t do drugs,” he said.
“I’ve been on a few ‘shroom trips. It’s not the same as drugs.”
“How do you figure? It changes your mind,” he said.
“It just opens it to a higher consciousness.”
“It’s not natural.”
“Mushrooms grow in the earth, how isn’t it natural?” she asked.
He sighed and ran a hand through his hair. There was no point in arguing. She wasn’t outright condemning him for being a shifter, so what right did he have to condemn her for eating mushrooms?
“We should head back,” she said. “Your dad’s going to wonder why I’m not in the field working.”
“I’ll deal with him,” he said. When she turned to leave, he grabbed her arm. “Wait.”
“Let me go.” She yanked her arm away.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean—”
“Greg, I just want to forget what I saw. I won’t tell anyone. Who would believe me anyway?”
“Okay,” he said.
As they walked back toward the field, he fought the urge to reach for her hand. He’d probably ruined any chance he had with her. God, how could he have been so careless? He should have waited until after dark to let his bear loose. Now whatever progress he’d made with her was gone. He’d have to start over. He’d have to find a way to make her trust him again.
As they reached the field, his dad strolled out of the house and walked over to where they stood.